Good Bye, Hello
by pandorabox82
Summary: A chance meeting with Spencer in the park leads to something more for a recently separated JJ. Written to promote the Profiler Choice Awards


JJ tried not to sigh as she looked at the pale strip of flesh were her wedding ring had once sat. Will had up and left them two nights ago, saying that he had to be free to find his bliss. The fact that that bliss included Agent Anderson and moving back to New Orleans was just rubbing salt in the wound. So, she had taken Henry to the park while he and Anderson had started to pack up his belongings.

"Watch me, Mama!" Henry called out and she smiled as she waved at him, watching him go higher and higher. The morning air was still nippy, and she rubbed her arms quickly to try and bring about some warmth.

"Here," a familiar voice said, and she looked up, a tender smile on his face. "I stopped by the house to see if Henry wanted to go to a museum this morning. Will told me that I could find the two of you here."

Spencer took a seat next to her, and she instinctively rested her head on his shoulder, sighing deeply. "Did he also tell you that he and Anderson are moving back to New Orleans? That he doesn't think his new life will include room for Henry? Or at least, not until he's settled down and made everything perfect. Did he tell you that trying to hide who he really was made him irritable, and that was why he took to hitting me?"

JJ was surprised when she started to cry, the bitter tears rolling down her face as she sipped at her coffee. Spencer's arm wrapped around her shoulders and she relaxed against him, focusing on Henry once more. "He's a fool," Spencer whispered and she nodded against his chest. "And fools never make good decisions. Did you see this coming at all?"

"No. That's what makes it worse. I didn't know love could die that quickly. I want to hate them, but I can't. He's happy, happier than I've seen him in more than a year. How can I begrudge him that?"

He rubbed her arm lightly and she sighed deeply. "You can't, because a part of you still loves him. You two created Henry, after all, and you love him. That means there's always going to be a tender part of your heart in regards to Will."

"You're smart."

"That is an understatement." He laughed lowly and she smiled as she closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of his cologne. "But I know what you were trying to say. It's just, I understand about tender parts of the heart."

There was a wistfulness to his tone that made her wonder, and she took another sip of her coffee. Spencer had remembered her favorite, and she smiled at the taste. "Do you still miss Maeve?" she asked, smiling as she waved at Henry once more.

"Yes, that is one of the tender parts of my heart. There's another who has wormed her way into my heart, and I've tried to ignore the feelings, since she had a partner for the longest time."

"Ooh, do you have feelings for Garcia?" she asked, thinking that they would make a handsome pair. After all, they were both geeks and could bond over that.

"No, but you're close. She has the same hair color."

"What? Have Strauss and Rossi broken up, too?" Her mind raced as she thought about what could have caused them to go their separate ways, especially after he had done everything to make sure that she would survive the damage that Curtis had wrought in her life.

"No, it's not her, either."

JJ's brow furrowed in confusion. "Lila, then? You're still infatuated with Lila Archer."

Spencer huffed out an impatient breath and she knew that she had guessed wrong once more. "You know, for a smart woman, you sure can be dense at times. I was talking about you."

"Oh," she gasped out, feeling her breath explode out of her lungs. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

She set the paper cup on the ground so that she could curl her hand in the fabric of his jacket. "How did you keep that under wraps?"

"You trusted me, so I was able to deflect the care into something akin to friendship. You never looked at me in that way, so it was rather easy to keep it hidden." His hand tightened around her upper arm, and she found that she didn't mind the possessive move.

"I don't know if I'll be ready to just jump in to another relationship. My heart is still tender, you know."

"I can only imagine. And I think that we should start out slow, anyway. I want to explore this fully, to not have anything hinder the way this thing could go. I want to be free to love you without having to worry that we're moving too fast, that we're rushing into something blindly. And I do not want to hurt Henry. He's going to be confused enough as it is, you know."

"I know." She looked up from the spot she had been staring at and met his eye, a tremulous smile spreading across her face. "He's going to be the first thought in my mind forever." He nodded and then she leaned up and kissed him tenderly. "But, I hope that I can make you my second thought in the years to come. Wait for me."

"I've been waiting for five years already, I hardly think that a few more weeks will be that large a burden." He chuckled and shrugged before kissing her softly once more. "But I'll always be here for you, I hope you know that."

"Good, I'm going to need that sort of support system in the months to come. Henry!" Her son slowed down his swinging before jumping off and running over towards them. "How would you like to go out to lunch with Uncle Spencer?"

He nodded eagerly before jumping onto Spencer's lap, snuggling in close. "Pizza Planet?" he asked, and JJ sighed as she nodded. It was going to be a long afternoon, but as long as she spent it with Spencer, she didn't really mind.

**NOMINATIONS HAVE STARTED FOR PROFILER'S CHOICE CRIMINAL MINDS FANFIC AWARDS! Calling all CM readers and authors! Join us for the annual Profiler's Choice CM Awards on fanfiction . net! Help us choose the best of the best of the CM stories on this site, and let your voice be heard. Please check out the nomination ballot and rules at the ProfilerChoiceAwards2013 Forum. All rules and information are on the forum. Nominations are due October 31st. All entries with ten or more categories filled out are eligible to win one of two Amazon gift cards!**


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